‘Imbibe country’s great values by becoming good citizens’

SALALAH, April 30 – Role of becoming good citizens and promoting the Sultanate’s strong values was highlighted at an event organised by the Directorate of Heritage and Culture, Dhofar Governorate, at Sultan Qaboos Youth Recreation Centre on Monday. Speakers drawn from different educational institutions exhorted the gathering to spread the message of becoming good citizens not only in words, but also in action to exhibit its true meaning. The event was held under the auspices of Salim bin Aufit al Shanfari, Chairman of Dhofar Municipality.
Ahmed bin Salem al Hajri, Director-General of Heritage and Culture in Dhofar, reiterated the value of heritage and culture and called upon the citizens to be innovative in conserving the Sultanate’s values and popularising them among cross section of people around the world. Among the speakers, Dr Saif bin Nasser al Mamari stressed upon the controlled behaviour of the citizens and not falling into trap of vested interests who try to divert attention from the real issues. Dr Mohammed bin Saif al Habsi, faculty member at Sultan Qaboos University, felt the need of cautioning the people of the onslaught of social media in all walks of life and put stress on the good role of theatre in conveying the right message to the citizens of the country.
“Theatre can play a very good role in conveying the right messages, which ultimately helps making good citizens. Theatre is a platform for artistes, who establish good rapport with the audience and is very successful in conveying themed messages to its audience,” he said. Muna bint Mohammed, put stress on making good use of social media by training the citizens and letting them understand the difference between real and fake. Speaker Shaikh Abdullah Ali al Sahri also put emphasis on becoming a good citizen and exhorted people to follow the tenets of Islam and its philosophy. During an interactive session, the participants raised their doubts on several issues and called upon the event organisers to hold more such meetings to address the misgivings of the citizen.